An Insomniac's Cure to Better Sleep
by Polarbearblue
Summary: Yang hasn't been sleeping and is desperate to try anything to get back to sleep. Turns out Ren has a simple cure for her sleeping disorder that he's willing to share. [Based of the movie Fight Club, as such the following story will be dark.]
1. I'd like to help you, but I can't

**Note: Based off the movie Fight Club.** So this is **not** the fluff you are looking for. Enjoy.

* * *

Pale, delicate fist that were heavy like steel pounded into raw flesh, shattering teeth and drawing blood from a cut under the unfortunate man's eye, his head dropping to the concrete he laid on. Opening his eyes to catch a glimpse of the feet walking and dancing around him, his head was lifted by his brown hair, only to be met with another fist. More of his blood and spit landed somewhere near his face. Sweaty, bruised, tired, and wishing to end his match quickly before another brutal blow, the man quickly lifted his right arm and tapped on the arm holding him down three times. The tall figure dressed into nothing but a sports bra and black shorts straddling him smiled before standing to her feet, relieving her toned body with curves a stock car driver could drift on for days.

With blond hair dripping wet from sweat, glistering over her entire body, she threw up both hands into the air as the crowd surrounding her cheered. They roared with so much joy their collective voices crackled like thunder. Yang Xiao Long was in her element, happy as she drew out as much praises as she could get from the audience, before clearing the figurative ring she previously boxed in to allow another pair to square off. _'A good night's sleep'_ Yang thought as she strolled over to an unoccupied bench to rest. Tonight, when Yang returns to her bed in the dorm room she shared with her team, she'd be having a good night's sleep.

A better night's sleep than she had been previously having.

* * *

Yang wanted to sleep. Exhaustion from classes, team building exercises, and a small extermination mission were wearing down on the busty boxer, and she wanted nothing more than to sleep tonight. To be blissful wrapped in blankets or spread across her bed in untangled limbs. Every night Yang looked forward to a hot shower and her double twin sized top bunk. Every night, the blond bruiser looked forward to her black haired Faunus partner's soothing declaration of "lights out" before listening to her teammates settle into their sheets to assist her in drifting off to peaceful slumber.

Except there was problem; she couldn't sleep. No matter how much she tried, Yang could keep her eyes closed for more than five minutes at a time. No noise or distractions, no pains her aura could not handle, little stress, and no nightmares, so Yang should have been sleeping soundly tonight. Her snores should have been ringing like a buzz saw through a giant oak tree. But tonight, like she has for the last few weeks, Yang laid awake in her bed, clutching the covers that were usually draped over her feet and hanging from the side of her bunk.

_'Why am I not sleeping?' _Tossing pillows over her body and resting her head on the mattress Yang could only stare at her peacefully sleeping sister across from her as she searched for a comfortable position. She was tired, beyond tired yet whenever she closed her eyes she could feel her muscles restless with excitement and her mind refusing to shut down. _'Not comfortable.'_

Tossing on her opposite side to face the brown colored walls of the shared dorm Yang could now only focus on the sounds of a small analog clock sitting in the middle of the room's bookshelf ticking away. Yang was being robbed of her joy and comfort, arguably her second favorite pastime after cracking jaws and breaking the limbs of Grimm. For the twenty-third night in a row Yang laid in her bed exhausted but unable to recharge, gathering a cumulative hour and half worth of rest before the sunlight indicative of a new day bore through the window curtains. _'I need to do something about this.'_

* * *

"I can't sleep."

"Hmm, really?"

"Really; I need help." The first course of action for the little sun dragon was to look up her cause of discomfort. After searching and finding a name for her ailment Yang immediately went to trying some solutions; but all fell short of allowing her to find sleep. Next step, seek the advice of a professional, the reason for today's visit to Beacon infirmary.

The doctor didn't respond right away. Holding an open beige file folder in his hand the older man thumbed through a thin stack of papers. Setting it aside he unlocked his scroll and began tapping away at the screen. "Well, have you tried sleeping pills or –"

"I've tried everything I could to get to sleep. But there's only so much I can do", Yang answered somberly, waving her hand dismissively at his question.

The doctor paused in his speech and raised his eyebrow to a questioning stare. Yang only responded by shaking her head. He had no reason to doubt the young woman. As students of Beacon they had access to plethora of resources but he knew with the stresses of fighting the forces of darkness, whatever Yang did wouldn't help. But her condition would last long. "Hmm, well insomnia would only last a few weeks, three to four weeks tops. You don't have any health problems so—"

"I'm going on week six", was her monotone reply. "This shit insomnia is chronic."

The physician furrowed his brow before taking another glance at Yang's record. _'She has been her before to see another doctor two weeks ago.'_

The physician must have said his thoughts out loud as he received a threatening tone from the girl in gold. "No shit Sherlock. I just told you—"

"It is stress related," he interrupted, pulling a pen a notepad out from his desk. "The best I can suggest is behavioral changes to encourage better sleeping habits and supplements." The doctor scratched his pen near his hairline on his forehead, earning a tongue click from Yang. "We can monitor you and if the problem persists we'll take extreme measures to cure what ails you."

Yang's right eye twitched. She could feel her anger rising from this doctor's incompetence as he ruffled his brown hair. "Look man. I need more than that. I can't get to sleep at night. I've tired naps during the day, reading before bed, I've changed my diet, stopped evening workouts before bed; nothing works. And it's affecting my work. I'm falling behind in my non-combat courses, it's becoming harder for me to keep a top rank in my combat class, and I'm putting my team in danger on each mission and class assignment we are sent on. I really need you to do more than give me supplements. I'm in a lot of pain."

The doctor took a hard glare at the young woman before him. "Pain; you think a few night of lost sleep is pain?" The physician leaned forward in his seat. "You don't know pain until you've come back from a death match with a Death Stalker, your prize being a broken leg and a missing eye. You don't know pain until a stuffy, old doctor, who has had too many drinks on a Monday morning, tells you that you have testicular cancer." Yang was stunned silent as she examined the man's face finally noticing the black eye patch covering his left eye, his speech an honest confession of past trauma.

"Here", the doctor spat shoving two slips of paper in her hand. "Take two days off from all activities. Get your medicine from the nurse up front. Until further notice you are not to participate in any missions and will have limited field assignments." Waving his hand towards the door Yang stood to slowly shuffled to the front, but not without a final comment from the angry doctor.

"Soft, full golden hair, a pretty smile, abs of steel, and curves any woman would kill for; you want to see pain? Go to the Vale Cultural Center on Wednesday evenings and talk to the women who meet there," he paused and took an un-shameful but disinterested glance the chest he felt his patient flaunted, "who have _breast cancer._ You'll know pain then."

* * *

Yang didn't know why she took the physician's suggestion to heart. Maybe it was because she had been over dramatizing her situation, that she failed to see other's pain and needed a reality check. Maybe going to see those who were less fortunate for her was healing for Yang herself, knowing that despite her lack of sleep she was most fortunate to still have her _gauntlets_, beautiful mane, and a lifetime ahead of her. Or it could have been because for the third time in her life, she had the opportunity to get laid.

Terrible, she knew it; taking advantage of some young woman's short time to live to fulfill a dirty desire she had been deprived of since the few months prior to coming to Beacon. These women who were crowding around a small stage in metal foldout chairs rusted in the joint; these women who were sick and likely to die at any time because they weren't educated about early detection and prevention that could have made them survivors, all the money in the world unable to buy them a cure. Yang was that malicious jackass who wasn't easy, not like people assumed, but more than willing to accept a chance to go out for a drink with one of those lucky survivors, the twinkling in eyes a sure sign that her date expected more than a simple girls night out.

Yang knew this was her fault and couldn't blame anyone but herself. Then again, looking to the companion to her right who had so generously offered the invitation, she wasn't above blaming modern medicine and human needs for self-preservation; more than ten round of chemotherapy and the woman still looked like a seventeen year old dancing queen.

Yang could only wonder _'How did I get into this situation?' _Thinking back into their earlier conversations, maybe the woman knew she was really a faker and was only out to expose the truth. When Yang first showed up to the meeting the brown hair vixen took immediate interest in her, or more so her body. The blond was flattered, truly she was; even in her baggy clothing and hats to hide her figure and most distinguishable features Yang was forced into answering that that her hair was a well glued wig and her breast were clever padding when the woman made a…_lustful_ note of her unique physique.

_"Over compensating for your lost because cancer makes you feel less of a woman huh? Well you are alone here."_

Or maybe it was because the Faunus who took note to her was legitimately friendly and the two hit it off very well, using their meting time to discuss anything and everything that was cancer or being sick; instead of focusing on the positives and encourage a happy, active lifestyle that included making the most of what could be their final days, the group leaders were just prepping them for death or a lifetime of misery.

_"You are a very good distraction from a painful reality Amber", _Yang recalled as the compliment given to her, the bogus name given as her identity because of a reluctance to use her real name.

No, the real culprit had to be insomnia; the lack of sleep was the reason she was here three times a week, and the lack of sleep was why Yang would get to home base with a beautiful fox who hadn't even asked for a first date yet.

Yang found it to be a surprisingly simple but morbid cure for her problem. Show up to the breast cancer meeting three times a week, sit off in the distance while the more active group members talked about their day, and in the last ten minutes of the hour long support group meetings, join one of her "peers", or more often the fox, in a crying session where they hug and comfort each other before they all convened in the lobby for finger sandwiches, donuts, and coffee. Then show up two days later and repeat.

It was an odd process for the blond, and she felt terrible for using each depressing gathering, and arguably worse than a soup kitchen food, as a clutch. But it was strangely therapeutic; for the first time in a six weeks Yang was able to sleep and if the return of her angry Nevermore snores meant anything, babies swaddled in warm blankets, taking happy holiday pictures for greeting cards never slept as good as she did.

Which bought her back to her current situation; after two weeks of playful banter the Faunus finally asked Yang out for a couple of drinks that would result in a one night stand neither would remember in the morning.

"I'm not gonna beat around the bush. You are a very attractive woman and I figure the only way I'm gonna have a shot with you is to get you drunk enough to get into bed with me." Okay, so maybe the vixen was the predatory type who also took advantage of other's weakness to use a coping mechanism to deal with her own stress and struggles. Hell, at least she was honest. Like Blake, but in a different way.

"But trust me; I don't want anything more than something physical. You game?" Honest and direct.

"As _tempting_ as that sounds, I don't think it's such a good idea. I'll have to pass pretty lady", the boxer nervously replied.

And yet as serious as she was Yang ended up agreeing to a few rounds of cheap beer at a nearby pub, a few round of cheap beer that turned into a lot of rounds of vodka and baijiu; a lot of rounds of hard liquor that ended up as sloppy kissing and groping as the newly made lovers rushed to a nearby motel, and sloppy kissing in a third rate motel that caused Yang to mistakenly reveal her hair was not a wig, her breast were real and at least a D cup, and that she never had cancer.

The Faunus was quick to curse at her and kick her out the room, inflammatory remarks about Yang being a perverted snake, every type of ass in existence, and otherwise a terrible human being ringing clear in her ears as she made the long walk of shame back to Beacon at two in the morning on a Saturday, her desperate tries to apologize having failed. That was funny coming from someone who gave an eighteen year old girl booze in exchange sex like a cheap whore.

But none of that really mattered. Yang felt like shit and tonight, she slept like shit.

* * *

"Yang, you look like shit. You haven't been sleeping and you aren't sleeping tonight."

Leave it to Blake Belladonna to paint an accurate description of Yang's state of affairs that has been another painful month of just two hours of rest a night; in as little words as possible. It wasn't a statement but more of a question that really asked _"What is going on with you?" _But that was what her partner was like. She observed people more than interacting with them, only confronting them with she needed to, had near perfect information, and when they were in no condition to lie to her.

"Nothing's wrong", Yang answered groggily, though not from sleep, "Just haven't been tired lately."

The black hair Faunus shook her head, her eyes illuminating the darkness that was their dorm room as she hung off the side of their bunk beds. Given that Yang had long adjusted to the darkness she could see the scowl and frown on Blake's face.

"Yang, I'm not stupid", she retorted, climbing into Yang's bed, ignoring the obvious danger of it collapsing under their combined weight. Into their second year at Beacon and the duo still used books to prop it up, Weiss refusing to buy proper bed for the team since none of them died from the shabbily engineering furniture yet. For being loaded with money she was very frugal. "Of all people you should know not to lie to me."

While aware of her sleeping roommates, Yang let out an audible groan of annoyance akin to a snarling bear. "If you know why I haven't been sleeping, then why bother me when I'm trying to sleep?" she spat, shifting in her bed to create more room for Blake sit comfortably but turning to face away from her. Yang knew it was rude and should have just been truthful about these reoccurring cases of insomnia, but she was the _Mama Bear_ of the team. She couldn't just admit she had a chronic sleep disorder.

"Yang, you may not have noticed…" Contrary to popular belief Blake, she did.

"…but we've grown accustom to your Boarbatusk snores of blissful dreams. They…" Blake paused. Yang recognized it as a moment of vulnerability, probably something the Faunus did not want to admit. "Your snores actually help me sleep at night."

Yang laid still for a moment to register what amber eyed girl said before turning to her with a questioning glaze of a raised eyebrow that asked _why?_

"It lets me know you're here."

Yang knew Blake's statement pointed to previous issues. She didn't have to say it outright, but subtle hints alluded to the fact she was scared of being alone, never shaking the feeling that her identity and past affiliations would cause tension in the group, and when push came to shove, she'd be left behind by the very friends she loved the most. The blond thought they had worked past this, but she knew well how Blake felt; given you may be someone totally different than what your teammates knew you as, the fear of rejection never leaves your mind. Internally Yang had to laugh. If they only knew about the previous drama the blond bruiser was in the center of; if they only knew how many names Yang held to keep her real identity, and them, safe.

The blond hair beauty raised her hand stroke Blake's cheek, a gentle amount of her own aura emitted through her hand for comfort, before moving to rub Blake's lower back. "Blake, I'm fine", she cooed, "If anything comes up, I'll be sure to talk to you; all of you guys. Now go to sleep."

While still apprehensive about their brief conversation Blake decided to take her partner's word for it and give up on pressing the issue. Climbing down to her own bed after lingering a bit longer to steal a bit more of Yang's warmth, the Faunus traded a gentle goodnight and a warning to rest up well for classes the next day.

Yang chuckled, still wide awake, but with a smile on her face as she closed her eyes to attempted to rest. "I'm going to sleep now."

* * *

"Ren, I need this! I haven't been sleeping at all!"

"Yang, I don't see how this helps you, _at all_", a light chuck threaten to escape said boy's lips.

_'That mocking little shit'_, Yang thought. She knew Ren secretly had a sarcastic attitude, but undeterred she pressed forward, ignoring his mocking jab. "I don't know how to explain it but I have a feeling that whatever you got into, I want to be a part of it too because I think it will help me out. I know it doesn't…" Yang paused to gather her thoughts and find the right words, "_connect_ as far as logic goes. But at this point I'm willing to try anything. I need something."

Rubbing the back of his neck, the boy in green closed his eyes before narrowing glaring back at Yang, his pink orb locked on to lilac ones. "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

Not wanting to seem intimidated Yang glared back. "I have a vague idea; can't put it together though because I'm running on fumes."

Yang couldn't quite explain what she was trying to put together, her mind hardly functioning at full capacity, but for a week now, Yang had observed some rather strange occurrence among a small population of the student body at Beacon.

It started in Professor Port's class; the brawler having given up on everything took her time to sit in the back of the class and take what little sleep she could. That's when she overheard an interesting conversation between two students about clubs, new members, fights, and something called 'the underground'; Ren's and Cardin's name popped up in conversation at least once.

The blond brawler was interested; anything with the word "fight" drew her attention like a moth to a flame. But lacking the energy, Yang could no longer afford to keep eavesdropping and decided to question them later. Not surprisingly, she actually forgot to do that.

However, there was also an incident with a third year student attempted to start fights with bystanders, but without actually fighting. Yang didn't quite get what he was doing; he kicked people that walked by, knocked their books out of their hands, or splashed them with water he was currently drinking, but avoided fighting when they retaliated. Unfortunately for him, he touched Yang the wrong way by slapping her on her ass.

His face was swollen beyond recognition and both Ruby and Weiss chewed her ass out for nearly beating the boy into a coma.

Of course Yang had other reasons for questioning Ren. The excuse for the injury Ren gave, that it supposedly it happened in a training exercise, seemed dubious at best. Ren was never far from Nora so for him to willing spar with any other students outside team JNPR or RWBY was an unlikely story.

"So you want know exactly what it is I'm _supposedly_ doing on my free time because I have a broken arm and that somehow helps you sleep better at night?"

She didn't answer, but he had successfully summaries her thought process.

The lotus boy dug around his pockets to pull out his scroll when Yang refused to respond. "Look Yang, I'd like to help, but I don't think I can. I'd like to tell you how I _really_ broke my arm doing some _unorthodox_ training for fun, but I can't."

"Why can't you—"

"I'd like to tell you about the underground passage behind the dragon statue in the Garden of Eden", he interrupted, pausing to gage the blond before tapping on his own scroll furiously, "_Garden of Eden, _write it down!" he exclaimed in a hushed tone.

"Oh", the girl in yellow silently murmured before clumsily fishing for her scroll.

"I'd like to tell you to meet me in front of the Beowolf statue _three hours_ after the last of the street lights turn on, but I can't. I certainly cannot recommend you come **without** Celica Ember and I will not be sending you a more expansive checklist by your scroll." Ren stood from the bench he was currently sitting at to walk back towards the dorms having spotted Nora in the distance, "I'd like to help, but I can't. There's nothing I can do, so…have a nice day."

And with that, Ren slowly made his way towards his partner. Shortly thereafter, Yang's scroll went off.

* * *

"Rule number one, you do not talk about Fight Club. Rule number two, you **do not** talk about Fight Club!" a tall thin student with spiky dirty blond hair spoke as he stood over the crowd.

The large dimly lit basement was cold, the concrete walls and floors doing a bad job of trapping in any heat even though the mass of human bodies should have done just as well. Wooden benches without backs and a few stools lined the grey stoned walls, but not nearly enough to seat every man (and woman) here in attendance.

"Rule number three; if someone says "stop" or goes limp, taps out the fight is over. Rule number four, only two people to a fight. Rule number five, one fight at a time." Scattered about the room Yang observed under the seats laid several gym bags as guys started removing their shirts and shoes. Those without bags simply tossed their discarded clothing aside.

"Rule number six, for our lovely ladies here tonight," The student at top grinned while some of the men flexed their muscles, "No shirts, shoes, dust or semblances; auras on a…case by case bases." Yang clutched her own bag that hung off her shoulder tightly.

"Don't look so uncomfortable Yang. You know why we're here. And the whole thing with your aura…" a soothing voice called out, a small hand grasping her shoulder; "it's been taken into account."

Yang stared into magenta orbs. "Can't help it; when your friend takes you to some secret underground boxing cult meeting you get a little nervous."

"Rule number seven, fights will go on as long as they have to. And finally, rule eight. If this is your first night at Fight Club, you **have** to fight."

Ren offered a gentle smile usually reserved for Nora to put the brawler at ease and motioned his hand to the front, eyes traveling with it. Following his gaze, Yang observed a number of student staring back at her with hungry eyes like wolves.

"You are kind of popular among many of the students here Yang," Ren began, drawing low cheers and crackles from the gathering that heard him. "They've been waiting for the Blond Bombshell so they could test their might."

"Is that what they call me now", Yang responded gazing over the hawkish onlookers before cracking a grin herself, removing her boots. "I can't imagine why you didn't bring me along sooner then."

"Because you're supposed to find this place on your own to join", a voice called out, people parting ways to open up the middle of the room. In the center stood a muscular brown haired Faunus, a wolf type if Yang had to guess, big but no taller than her. Growling the wolf spat on the ground near him. "Let's go blondie."

The whole spit take was rather repulsive but she could think of countless things much worse than what he did. Having already wrapped her hands Yang removed her jacket, skirt, and tank top, proud that she remembered to wear a sport bra that matched her black shorts.

"Good luck", Yang cheerfully said as she swayed over to middle of the room, outstretching her hand to shake. In a move that had the brawler nearly choking on her own spit the wolf spat in his then slapped hers before getting into a fighting stance. Yang pulled back her hand a looked at it as if a million spiders were crawling on her skin.

"You nasty ass mother—", Yang began in a shout but ended abruptly as she dodged right as the Faunus came running towards her, throwing his large fist in a cross but missing. Apparently the match started.

Yang listened as the crowd roared on, circling the duo in the "ring". They were screaming advice and words of encouragement to the young Faunus; "Keep your distance", "Watch her legs", "Give us a good show", and "Don't touch her hair". A vast majority of the crowd was cheering for wolf's victory but she wasn't without her own supporters. They chanted "Go Blond Bombshell" and "Kick his ass" like drunkards at a football game.

The Faunus, not deterred from missing his first swing quickly raised his leg for a roundhouse kick. Yang deflected with a downwards block but didn't except he'd follow through with another right cross. That one actually landed.

If Yang wasn't awake before the match, the fist to her face certainly woke her. Now she was ready to brawl. The blond brawler watched the Faunus pumped his hands in the air, the mob roaring for him having knocked the dragon off her feet. Turning to face his opponent the Faunus launched forward in a slow jab. Ducking under his punch Yang punched at his open abdomen, causing him to stumble back.

Yang didn't bother to wait for him to catch his breath. Bouncing up to him with her own two fists shielding her face, the bruiser served him two jabs to his face, finishing with a cross of her own. The wolf swiped up trying to land an uppercut but Yang had predicted his sloppy movements and jumped back to safety.

Deciding to play for the mass watching Yang allowed him to throw punch after punch, adding to the Faunus' frustration. To onlookers, the girl in black and yellow was dancing about, light on her feet, and their jeers shifted in favor of the boxing beauty as she delivered occasional jabs when he left himself open. Her opponent was becoming angry, the thunderous crowd distracting him, but in Yang's mind their shouts were muffled and distance.

It was so unfortunately he had two sets of ears; they must be overwhelmingly loud.

Yelling the Faunus charged furiously towards her with what would be his last punch. Side stepping to his left Yang jabbed her elbow into his face, kicking him in his stomach when he stepped back and raised his hand to nurse his face. As he fell on his back Yang straddled him and laid a flurry of blows upon him. After five good hits the wolf Faunus tapped out and the brawler jumped to her feet, fist pumped in the air as the men and women watching boomed.

"So how do you like Beacon's Fight Club Yang?" the lotus boy asked, his face holding the smallest of smiles as she swayed over towards an open bench. Ren asked knowing the answer, but though it'd be common curtsey to ask since it was her first outing and he invited her. Yang's answer however, confirmed his best desire.

"A lot. I think I'd like another fight!"


	2. Are you threatening me?

**Note: **First, I apologize for the lack of updates from me. I haven't been in much of a mood to write, but now I'm trying my best to start up again. Secondly, I apologize if you expected much more from this; something deep like the movie. I don't intend to go that deep, as this was pretty much an excuses to write something dark, violent, and sexually suggestive; and the movie had been on my mind lately. That said I might reopen this and fic on with it, but I just wanted to get it out my system for the moment.

* * *

"I think I'm one of those crazy, dark, twisted fuckers who enjoy other people's discomfort."

"Really, I hadn't noticed."

Yang bit her tongue to avoid immediately lashing out at the boy in green. "Must you always be so sarcastic?"

"I thought you didn't mind this type of playful banter. You must only enjoy it with Blake", he responded, drawing out her partner's name in an uncharacteristically seductive tone. She bit her tongue again to avoid chastising him harshly.

"And this must be the secret personality of the famous Lie Ren", the brawler finally retorted.

"I'm hardly famous", he responded, his voice calm and monotone as it usually was. "Sorry, we don't socialize much outside of a few classes, lunch, and the occasional team bonding our fearless leaders force upon us. I take whatever chances I get to tease my second favorite natural blond."

Yang nodded in agreement. Ren was much like Blake, calm, collected, but introverted, and seemingly indifferent. Yang and Nora usually dealt with each other leaving those two to enjoy in silent company, Blake reading and Ren mediating, both keeping a watchful eye that their partners didn't kill anyone. To share personal time with Ren was odd, but surprisingly enjoyable.

"In any event, I must ask, how have you been sleeping these days?" the lotus boy asked.

Yang chuckled a bit before staring him dead in the eye. "Better than a toddler with a bottle of whiskey. I'm in your debt."

Yang may or may not have meant what she said, but she was extremely grateful for what Ren did. Since attending Beacon's fight club, Yang hasn't had a restless night in weeks; and much to the dismay of Weiss, her snores have returned louder and more blissful than ever before.

Yang loved fight club. "The secret underground boxing cult", as she called it, was much more than a place where students engaged in fisticuffs. There was a sense of comradely that existed in fight club, a fraternity and sorority of hunters and huntress who honed their most primal ways of combat. Students who competed on different levels in schools due to different skill levels with semblances and dust were rivals when their only options were fists. Grudges and disagreements were solved here. Even the most self-conscious and weakest of combatants found their voice and strength inside the human ring, becoming titans in their own rights.

The entire world that was fight club also helped Yang get to know her friends and enemies better.

It was fascinating, the people she met and the conversations she had. While they most spoke of important people they'd like to fight, types of Grimm or Faunus they'd thought they'd be, strange factoids about their teammates, and awkward book or articles they read, most interesting to Yang were they stories of how her comrades each found this underground boxing culture.

"How did I find out about this place? Well, the story isn't as exciting to tell, but pretty much, I'm here because Nora is here", Ren confide in Yang one night as they watched said girl dance around her slow opponent.

According to Ren, the duo decided to take an impromptu field trip, "discovering" all the places they had yet to see on Beacon's expansive campus. But between the multiple gardens, unused field houses, and rarely traveled part of Beacon that focus on more traditional education, the duo got lost and took a roundabout way into the secret garden on campus.

The Valkyrie actually found the secret passageway that led into the basement among some large shrubs behind the statue, but was chased off by an older student with threats of retribution.

"I am Nora's burning curiosity. I get Ren in more trouble than he would gotten into into himself, because I always need to pry into secrets and I live to take him along for the adventure", the young Viking girl mocked as they discussed the amount of trouble the duo always got into, bouncing her way back to Ren, her opponent being carried off the floor. Nora's bubbly personality meant she had no problem with poking fun at herself around friends.

"So we returned at night. I did more so for her safety."

"And we found this amazing place where it was sweaty as hell and smelled like shit but people were fighting and laughing and having a good time…"

And since then they would come at least once a week.

There was also Velvet Scarlatina, a surprise to find in the dark underground of Beacon. The rabbit Faunus was dragged here by her teammates, who claimed to have found an amazing place training people to be better hunters and huntresses.

"Amazing was hardly the word I'd use to describe this place", the Faunus declared as she cleaned a cut on Nora's leg. "Barbaric better fits the descriptions; and after my first night, I was sure I wasn't returning."

Velvet's first fight ended in disaster. It was a bloody brawl with sadistic senior student that didn't even last for ten minutes; much of it due to the bunny girl's refusal to fight, but part of it due to her opponent being twice her size. Convinced she wasn't strong without her dust or semblance she avoided coming back to fight club thereafter. But watching someone else's trials and growth has a funny way of convincing you to do things you may not want to do.

Jaune's maturity into a stronger hunter-in-training convinced Velvet to tackle challenges and improve herself, and with her team's prodding and begging, the Faunus came back with vengeance and sought out a rematch. While she still lost, it went much better than the first attempt, so much so that Velvet became a bit of a regular. Though to see her spar in the ring was a rare treat; instead she puts her skills to use as resident nurse in the underground cult.

Lastly, there was team CDRL, or at least Cardin Winchester and Sky Lark. There wasn't much to mention about those two; they were one of the few un-welcomed regulars that had been involved as long as Nora and Ren. They showed outright prejudice against Faunus by picking them as opponent majority of the time, something that vexed half the students who came to fight. The other half of students, who didn't care for their discrimination, hated the duo because they liked to play dirty.

Sadly, no one could really prove they broke fight club rules, so they were allowed to stay. But their dishonestly and malice ostracized them from most other combatants; few opponents were willing to spar with them here as much as in Professor Goodwitch's class.

Nonetheless, being a part of fight club was fun, but it didn't come without its challenges. The major challenge for the blond bruiser was not her opponents but keeping her pastime a secret.

* * *

Tonight was a good night. The crowd was larger and more boisterous than it usually was on a Thursday night, and someone had brought in a large quantity of alcohol to drink, which was none of the cheap stuff they usually stole from the nearest convenient store they could get to. That meant the people who liked to drink were getting really fucked up.

But that wasn't why Yang had such a good night. Tonight she had a very good bout, the best since attending the club, with a second year Faunus that nearly rivaled her combat.

Yang could remember the pretty face just as well as she could recall the match, and thankful the girl didn't knock her brains out so she'd forget. The girl could easily pass for the big black cat her physical traits made her appear to look like. Long feathered jet black hair with vibrant blue eyes, a black tail, and surprisingly, a much darker skin tone than most people who came from Vale; Yang knew that girl must have come from the hottest regions in Mistral to attend the academy. She completed her feral looks with slightly long nails and a tendency to roar like thunder. When she inquired about it later, the girl replied her elemental semblance was lightning.

The wild look; however, was all misdirection. From the over hour long fight Yang had with the panther Faunus, she could tell the girl had formal training in various martial arts and used her hands, rather than a weapon like a sword or mace, when outside of the club.

The fight between the two wasn't just sloppy jabs that the blond dodge with ease; Yang had to actually pay attention and keep her defense up. Yang could see the telltale signs of her fighting styles given away by the Faunus' type of punches, kicks, and blocks. But none of that matter when her opponent combined them so effortlessly.

Walking down Beacon's empty hallways Yang recall a particularly embarrassing scene that started with a hastily thrown right jab; the two combatants were waiting for the other to move and strike, Yang shuffling on her feet while the panther lightly bounced on her balls of her feet. Yang watched to try to catch a break in the girl's concentration, while she guarded her face, when her opponent decided to settle into a different rhythm.

Taking the perceived opening, Yang jumped forward only for the Faunus to block upwards with her left arm; the entire counterattack was quick. Dropping her hips the girl ducked below Yang's chin into a side stance and elbowed the boxer in her chest. Before Yang realized it, the girl had pivoted on her left leg behind her, grabbed her left arm and shoulder, and with a huff showing exertion of force, threw the blond brawler over her back and into the ground.

Yang thought she was pretty lucky to have won this fight. Thirty minutes away from end of their round, they were exhausted as they wrestled with each other on the cold concrete. The girl had more disciplined training but the blond had two distinctive advantages that barely got her the win: she was physically stronger than the panther Faunus, and her challenger was not good at fighting by grappling.

Even with her claws digging into the bruiser's back, Yang's superior strength and wrestling abilities allowed her to wear her enemy down. Even while struggling the girl had managed to break free of arm bars and leg locks, even staggering to her feet knowing the odds were in the Blond Bombshell's favor. Tired; however, the Faunus could do little to defend from a vertical suplex and was subdued into shoulder lock.

Yang rubbed the inside of her legs, inciting a stinging pain as she nursed a large bite mark. Yang would have not needed to dislocate the girl's shoulder had she just tapped out instead of drawing blood. Lucky for them, the Faunus' brother was able to snap it back into place and Yang's aura was already taking care of wounds.

"The sling is gonna be hard to explain", Yang said as she rounded a corner. Slowly stalking to her room Yang glanced at her scroll to check the time; it was just a quarter before two in the morning. Proud she didn't stay out later than she intended to, the blond picked up her pace to rush to the dorm room within sight. With a very good brawl and a tiny bit of liquor in her system to help her sleep, all Yang needed was a good shower and hopefully she'll avoid her sister and–

"You're back late", a voice called from in front of her dorm room.

"Oh well you know, homework and stuff. I didn't want to disturb you guys so I just sorta left", Yang softly replied, coming to a stop in front of the dark haired girl hanging outside the room. _'Hopefully I would have avoided you too.'_

"Oh really?" the Faunus replied, dressed in the black yukata she normally wore to bed. Leaning on the door post, her slim figure blocked the entryway to their room, the door left open slightly ajar. If Yang had to guess, either Blake just woke up or waited all night for her return.

"Yeah", Yang chuckled as she stood in front of her companion, trying to get a glimpse as to whether the rest of the team was sleeping. "Um, are you gonna let me go in so I can get some sleep?"

A long moment of silence passed before the girl in gold decided to gently push her way pass the Faunus. The moment the blond touched her shoulder Blake sprung from her leaning position, grabbing her partner by both wrists, and pressing her body against the tall woman.

Yang was taken by surprise from the sudden action and stumbled back to put some distance between them. With Yang having yet to try to get out her Blake's grip, and with just enough lax in strength and balance on Yang's part, the Faunus turned the taller girl away from the door and forcibly pinned her back against the right wall, just outside their room; a thud and low hiss of pain from the push the boxer alerting her other senses that her partner meant to muster a lot of force in her assault.

Instinctively, Yang wanted to shout and push back, but froze when she noticed her dark haired companion snuggled her head into the crooks of her neck. With a distinctive feline like murmur, Blake took in a big whiff of the golden girl's scent.

"Um, I know I'm _intoxicating_ but—", Yang began nervously, attempting to put her usual charm into the question.

"You smell", Blake interrupted, left hand dropping from her hold on Yang's wrist to rest just above the her partner's hip, "Sweat, blood, and the strongest vodka in Vale."

Ignoring Blake's quip that she was familiar with alcohol brands, suggesting the Faunus herself enjoyed shots here and there, Yang immediately replied with one of her pre-made excuses. "I decided to do a little sparring in one of the practice rooms too, since I wasn't very tired. And I sorta cut my hand but I patched it up."

"And you used a one hundred and sixty proof vodka brand to do that?" The Faunus asked in a purr, voice soft and smooth like velvet as she pushed her left leg in between and up Yang's inner thigh, left hand gently gliding underneath Yang's jacket, across her skin, and up her back.

Yang knew what game her partner was playing at, Blake having observed the blond use it before to extract information from a low life thug, then beat him in his face when he attempted to get to "touchy feely"; and it was close to working just as well. If it wasn't for the slight sting the girl felt on her leg Yang might have forgotten that she was trying hide the reason why she smelled like alcohol. Velvet had to use the vodka as an antiseptic for the large nasty scratch mark bandaged on her back. The same scratch Blake's hand was dangerously getting close to touching.

Defiantly, Yang grabbed Blake's hand and forced it down, her grip communicating that she was not comfortable with her partner moving up there.

"It's not vodka, just some really good antiseptic, courtesy of Beacon", Yang huffed, trying to sound as stern as possible, as if she was insulted Blake would imply she was drinking. Of course it didn't come out as well; the elevated hitch in her voice telling Yang she failed to notice Blake's leg was going places and it had made contact with a sensitive area of her body.

"Interesting…" was Blake's only reply as Yang released her grip on her hand to push Blake's knee down from her crotch.

During the entire exchange, not once did Blake look at Yang; all the while the taller girl had been gazing down at her partner rested on her neck, shivering at the intimate contact. But the moment Blake looked up to face her and spoke, Yang could see it; with the way her amber eyes glowed and the way her eyebrow rose, not in confusion but in satisfaction, Yang knew she slipped up. It was so unfair her partner was playing dirty.

Through her lie, Yang confirmed what her partner already knew. Her Faunus partner; a Faunus like every other Faunus, meaning she had exceptional hearing and a superb sense of smell.

_'Really Yang; why the hell would you say it's not vodka? She's a fuckin' cat! She can smell blood on a corpse a mile away. Of course she knows that it's fuckin' vodka!'_

The boxer noticed a small grin stretching across Blake's face signifying a victory in learning what she wanted to know.

_'She can probably hear the lust in your voice too, the way she turned you on…Goddamnit.'_ Make that two victories etched in Blake's book.

While Yang berated herself for falling prey to such a tactic, Blake let go of the wrist she held on to and eased off her partner. Blake bent around the door to retrieve a bundle of clothing and toiletries in small basket.

"Go shower and wash the smell off", the Faunus commanded, nearly throwing the items at Yang, before sneaking inside the room.

"Your sister will be waking up in four hours, so be quick if you want some sleep." And with that Blake closed the door, dooming Yang to the fate of a cold shower in the communal stalls.

* * *

"She knows."

"Given the story you just told me, I'm not sure if I should applaud Blake or be ashamed at you. Are you sure she knows?" the boy asked, voice void of any emotions other than neutrality.

"Both", Yang replied to the first statement, "and yes I'm sure she knows. Or at least knows enough to justify following me nights when I go out. If this keeps up I'll have to stop going all together."

"Well that won't go over well for you now would it?" Ren responded wrapping his hand in cloth. "You'll just have to be more creative in your excuses then."

"I'm using all my good excuses on Ruby and Weiss. How is it that you two get away with fooling Jaune and Pyrrha?"

"That's because Jaune is gullible like _really _gullible, so he takes most stories for what they were supposed to be, the truth", Nora began to ramble on as she sat in between the duo "which really sucks for Pyrrha because she'd follow him through hell and the ends of the earth so if Jaune believes a lie then Pyrrha believes a lie so—"

"What she means to say is that we don't have problems within our team."

Yang let out a groan thinking over his last statement, and ultimately the last few weeks. Yang, Ren, and Nora had on a few occasions been confronted about their underground activities. The friend didn't know what it was, but felt it was connected with their late night disappearances or random injuries found some days later. So they resorted to lying, coming up with well thought out covers, finding people in the club who could always confirm their story. In this way, the trio was able to keep fight club exclusively for themselves. No matter how unrealistic the story, how dubious it seemed, one of them or someone on the outside was always ready to support it, usually with a better explanation which elevated some of their peer's worries.

Unfortunately for Yang, whereas Nora and Ren didn't need to put much thought into how they'd keep fight club a secret, team RWBY was more difficult to deceive.

When the young red cloaked sniper confronted her older sibling about her poor sleeping habits that transformed into late night rendezvous, to God knows where, Yang had to become resourceful with her lies. She told Ruby and Weiss anything and did everything that seemed plausible, from fibs about studying with Velvet to cutting down the amount she spent at fight club. So long as Ruby was happy and convinced, Weiss couldn't care less for what the blond did at two in the morning, and that meant half the equation was solved.

The other half that Yang couldn't solve involved trying to outsmart the keenest member of their team.

Finishing his preparations, the lotus boy stood. "Would it really be so bad if she joined fight club? You wouldn't have broken a rule if she discovered your late night activities and after her first night she'll be free to do as she pleases."

"As nice as that sounds I know it won't happen. I know she wouldn't approve of _this _and I honestly don't want her anywhere near here", Yang responded waving her hand dismissively at his comment.

"Well, you've got two options, continue to lie to her or tell her the truth." Ren gave the blond a gentle smile and pat on the shoulder before walking into the center of the crowd for his match, the cheerful Nora following close behind to watch, but taking the time to give her own words of wisdom. "If all else fails, threaten to break her legs!"

Now alone with her thoughts, Yang mulled over her confrontation with Blake. Leaving out in the middle of the night, and coming back at the crack of dawn with fresh bruises, was something she couldn't keep from a worried younger sister, a suspicious heiress, and an ex-terrorist/prodigy assassin for long. And if Blake had her way it'd be sooner rather than later that her team would find out.

"How do you outsmart someone smarter than you?" Leaning her head back on the stone wall of the basement, the brawler posed the question hoping someone could give her an answer. Suddenly a thought encouraged by Nora's possibly serious suggestion appeared in mind. As the crowd roared thunderous chants of Ren's name, Yang packed up her belongings; her match ended a while ago, and with Ren doing well in his, she didn't need to stay.

"I don't need to outsmart her", the blond hummed to herself, smirking as she stuffed a few items into her school bag. "Since lying isn't working, I'll just tell her the truth."

* * *

Yang was going to confront Blake tonight. She was going to confront the Faunus and hopefully, after tonight, she wouldn't have to deal with the one member of her team intent on finding out about fight club.

Yang felt guilty about what she was going to do and spent hours today going over reason why she should and shouldn't do what she was planning to do. She knew what would transpire tonight would put a strain on their friendship. But it was necessary. So long as the blond didn't go overboard, she wouldn't ruin the friendship and trust between them. Then again, Yang was never one to do things just right. Yang knew that Blake would stubbornly press her on the issue unless she made it clear there wasn't a problem. She had to do this. Hopefully if she screwed this up, in time the Faunus would learn to forgive her.

Lying awake in her bed, Yang made her usual preparations when she was convinced her sister and the heiress were sleeping. Silently dropping out of bed, the blond bruiser did her best to quietly change out of the sleepwear she wore to bed into more comfortable clothing. Usually this process was done outside the room, but she wanted to make sure a certain black cat saw her.

Grabbing her usual bag that she prepared for each night she went out, the boxer silently slipped out the dorm.

Once outside in the hallway, Yang walked away from the door and rounded a corner, but only to give the illusion that she wasn't close by anymore, choosing instead to stall there. The blond didn't have to wait long; sure enough she quickly heard the click of the door open. Yang counted to five in her head. Blake's steps were expectedly quiet but Yang knew how the young Faunus walked and how long her strides were, the thoughts about how much Yang observed Blake to learn this; however, sounding creepier as the blond dwelled on them.

When her count reached zero, Yang took a large step from her hiding spot prepared to surprise Blake by calling out to her.

"Hey Blake, whatcha up to?" Yang watched the Faunus jump at the sudden call of her name and appearance of a person she was not prepared to run into, amber eyes wide as she swung her head to find her face but a few inches from her partner.

Taken by surprise the girl stumbled and nearly fell back. "Yang, why are you—"

"Come take a walk with me", the blond interrupted, grabbing the Faunus by her waist to keep her on her feet, lower her voice in a stern tone. "I insist."

Hearing her partner's tone, Blake could only nod and bow her head. Without protest, Yang dragged her partner through Beacon's hallway, only releasing the Faunus from her iron grip when she was sure she wouldn't run away.

The two walked in relative silence, Yang strolling ahead as her hands rested behind her head with the shorter girl walked behind her. It was unspoken between them, but Yang was leading them somewhere the Faunus may or may not have been familiar with, to talk. Every so often the blond to a glance at the Faunus in black, observing her soft golden eyes scan their surrounding as the ventured deeper into Beacon.

And every so often Yang chuckled to put the girl at ease, hoping it would trick her into letting her guard down for the conflict to follow.

Eventually Yang broke the silence between them, her voice soft as she directed a question to her partner. "Blake, do you trust me?"

"Of course", the girl responded. While Yang couldn't see, she could tell the Faunus was giving her a questionable glance, based by the tone she answered with.

"Do you really trust me?" the blond asked again, voice firm this time.

"With my life Yang", came the equality firm response.

"So how long did you intend to follow me until you confronted me again?"

Blake didn't immediately answer, pausing for a second before trying to pretend she didn't understand what she was being asked. "What do you mean—"

"I swear Blake you get really fuckin' lazy with your ninja shit when you're up against someone who isn't as skilled as you", Yang interrupted, stopping and dropping her hands to her side.

"And I feel really insulted, because that implies I'm a bad huntress or I'm stupid." The brawler turned on her heels to face the Faunus behind her. "But I know you have been following me. So I will ask you again, do you trust me?"

"Yes." For her part, Blake answered Yang with the same firm confirmation as before.

"So how long did you intend to follow me until you confronted me again?"

Blake once again paused before giving her answer, this time taking much longer to respond, possibly thinking about how she'd word her next statement.

"Until I find out what you are trying to keep from me. Yang, I'm worried about you."

Expressionless Yang nodded to confirm that she understood what Blake said. "I'm glad you're worried. But I'm going to have to ask you to stop."

"Stop; what, why—"

"Just stop. Stop following me. Stop interrogating me. Stop trying to pry into my business. There is nothing you need to know. Rather, the less you know, the better."

Yang couldn't see Blake clearly in the darkness, even though her eyes long adjusted to it, except by the cat like eyes that glowed not too far from her. They narrowed and the blond could imagine a frown forming on Blake's face. "Are you seriously not going to tell me?"

Abandoning all quietness in her walk, Yang made long strides toward Blake, her own lilac eyes narrowed. The young assassin tried to stand her ground, but the feeling that Yang would rather overtake her personal space, and run over her, encouraged the Faunus to retreat back into a wall she was sure wasn't there a few minutes ago.

"I'm serious", the blond stated as she pressed against the shorter girl. Blake attempted to push her off, refusing to look at her while still muttering off questions about why Yang was being so secretive suddenly. Angrily Yang grabbed the short girl's arms, her left forearm pinning them over her head as she held her against the wall, growling "Do not try to walk away from me when I am talking to you!"

"You put me in a very awkward position to where I have to do this Blake", she began, voice rising in volume to just under a shout, "because it seems you just can't take a hint. So now I have to blunt."

With anger suddenly radiating off the blond, Blake was faulting under Yang's stare. "Are you threatening me?"

Grinning, Yang used her free arm to cup Blake's chin and force the girl to look at her, lilac eyes now turned red as she maintained the aggression in her tone. "No, I'm askin' you to stop prying into my business. You need not concern yourself with me on this so long as I come back to the dorm every night. You don't need to stalk me every night to make sure I come back to sleep in my bunk. So fuck off."

"Yang, if you are you in trouble, let me help you", Blake spoke, trying to keep her tone firm but sympathetic.

"No. Just tell me that you understand what I'm sayin' to you."

"Yang, enough", Blake begged, fear hidden in her voice as she could feel Yang's aura flare in frustration at her. Instead she earned a forceful shove against the wall as the blond relaxed her weight, only to grab at both wrists and pin her back again, inciting a yelp from the Faunus.

"Are you even listening to me?" the blond asked, voice sounding insulted, "because it sounds like you are ignoring everything I just told you!"

"Please let me go—", the Faunus choked out, stubbornly refusing to submit despite the anxiety in her voice, probably from disbelief that her partner could direct her anger at a teammate. She was once again interrupted, by growl and Yang's fist flying into the wall, before pinning against the stone for a third time. The punch wasn't enough to cause any damage, but it did succeed in focusing Blake's attention on the raging blond holding her.

"Let me make it clear that **I am not joking**", the boxer snarled, squeezing Blake's wrists, "This is some serious shit I don't want you a part of Blake. There will be consequences you won't like and I can't guarantee you _I'll_ be able to protect you from them. Now I'm not sayin' I'll hurt you…" Yang leaned in the whisper in Blake's human set of ears, "But I'm not above using a bit more _forceful_ means of getting you to quit. So don't **fuck** with me."

Yang released her grip on the Faunus as she stepped back, holding her hands on her hips, her eyes devoid of fury as they returned to their normal coloring. Blake wanted to collapse on the ground but stood on her feet, using the wallas support. The two stared at each other, both struggling to maintain their gazes, though Yang did a good of hiding her remorse at the situation.

"I don't wanna have this conversation again Blake", she spoke, voice considerably calmer. "Go back to the dorm, go to bed, and don't tell the others about any of this." On that remark Yang turned and walked away, leaving Blake fall shaken on the ground.

* * *

Blake was bothered. The Faunus could tell Yang had gotten herself in trouble, but she couldn't tell just how much her partner was in. Still, it had to be a lot, considering the late nights her partner would leave the dorm, the early mornings she returned bruised, the way her partner acted around certain students, and the threat her best friends promised she'd make a reality if Blake didn't back off. It all came to one conclusion; Yang bit off way more than she could chew.

Blake had seen it before; how someone close to her was being tormented by demons he wouldn't allow anyone to exorcise them. No matter how close Blake tried to get to him, he kept her at a distance, saying it was meant to protect her. In the process he lost himself and the Faunus was unwilling to stay to watch him break. It was the reason why she ended up at Beacon; she left him at the last possible moment she knew he would allow her to go.

Like before with her pervious partner, fear from the unexpected encounter with the blond made Blake keep her distance. Never did she expect Yang could drive her anger at anyone of her friends, even if they had cut her glorious hair. But she knew that in some respects her previous partner and her current one were similar; fiercely loyal but temperamental, and unwilling to accept help from others when they felt they could take on problems themselves. Blake couldn't bear to watch the process happen a second time. Her best friend was in serious pain and Blake didn't want to sit idly sit by again.

It was struggle to decide if and how she would proceed forward with Yang being more cautious, and aggressive, to her. But once Blake decided she'd help whether Yang wanted it or not, the Faunus didn't play any more games. It was a shame the young assassin had to treat her teammate as an assassination target but with the blond being wise to her doings, she couldn't afford to be "lazy with her ninja shit", as the blond bruiser puts it. Blake was determined to find who she got mixed up with.


	3. Consequences

**NOTE:** So here's something I should address from Craxuan. First, I'd like to thank this person for the review. Helps me do better.

Now then, if you read his review, he mention Yang's behavior as totally unnecessary. I agree with this, and reason being is because I purposely wrote it as such. As Craxuan mentioned, Yang attends Fight Club to release stress and sleep well. If she's stressed, she doesn't sleep well. And if she doesn't sleep well, she may not be the same Yang you know. Essentially she acted as a different person and interpreted situations differently. Blake prying causes some stress for her, so she she responded a lot differently than you may expect. That includes how 'telling the truth' equates 'threaten the s*** out of Blake without actually telling the truth'.

But if none of that still doesn't sit well with you, hopefully this last part does a lot better in making my intentions clear.

* * *

You can tell when Yang Xiao Long has had a bad day by the way she fights; the difference in strength between her normal, cheerful self and angry, aggressive self are as different as the earth and the sky. Whereas normal Yang always fought with energy that could be described as confident, relaxed, and playful, it is a far departure from the Yang that in enraged. It is burning, uncontrolled, and violent. Best described as spontaneous combustion, her anger goes away as quickly as it comes when she is allowed to relieve herself, but not without casualties from the focus of her aggression.

Yang knows this, she know she is a destructive force that is bounded only by the limits of the sky. Nonetheless, Yang is a responsible person, for the most part. She knows she needs to learn to balance stress and keep her emotions in check. And since coming to Beacon, Yang has learned to do so. But Yang needed this; she really this. Today had been one long test or her patience, which was in very short supply today, and her only salvation was Thursday night Fight Club. The weekend would soon be upon them and she rejoiced in the fact that her Friday schedule was light and her classes were early. But tonight she needed to let out some steam.

It never really matters what events happened during the day, though if one must know, the blond had a bad hair day and terrible set of morning classes that ended in a disastrous team mission. The only thing that mattered was her ability to vent before a meltdown and with whom or what would Yang release her bottled up fury upon.

But much like today, something felt off, as if something was here that shouldn't have been. Yang took her time to examine the basement and saw that it wasn't the usual crowd for a Thursday night. The basement was light of students, mostly Faunus, with some faces Yang didn't recognized right away but knew weren't newcomers. Despite the rules being read, the blond assumed they had to be people who rarely showed up. Yang tried to find fault with this but didn't see any.

Then she noticed there were more amounts of alcohol and smoke floating around the room. This group had a wave of drunks and chain-smokers that the blond wasn't used to. They appear more rambunctious in nature, meaning they had a high probability of pissing her off and dying on the floor tonight. This could have been it, but she realized this wasn't the source of her discomfort. Some crazy idiot challenging her to a death match was welcomed, and besides, the more vodka the better right?

Yang studied the crowd closely to look for a contender. Ren, Nora, and Velvet were all here tonight, although the bunny Faunus was more reserved than usual, which is to say she looked tortured to be here. Yang looked for the source of the Faunus' discomfort and saw Cardin Winchester out among the people. Velvet must have been afraid the bully would request her to fight, since his usual prey of students were in low numbers.

Yang decided he'd make good for her first of many brawls but no sooner had she stood from her seating position did a first year student, drunk and hardly aware of his surroundings, ask her to a match. Watching him slur in speech and nearly fall over his own feet the blond couldn't even suppress her laughter. He probably never seen her fight, but heard she was one of the few of the few undefeated boxers of the club; someone who would go as far as to break arms to keep her title. He was probably looking for a good time, a better reputation, and people to give him more alcohol.

Well if not Cardin, then he'd make a nice warm-up; she'd sober him up real quick.

The moment she stepped in the center she got to work. Instead of her usual dancing and laughing about, teasing her opponents with weak throws, she laid down a flurry of punches and kicks that proved why no one beat her in a match. As usual the crowded bellowed advice and words of encouragement; "Keep your distance", "Watch her legs", and "Don't touch her hair". They were hoping, but really knew he wouldn't be the one to dethrone her as one of the queens of the concrete.

Whenever he fell Yang picked him up before she pummeled him again, purposely knocking him down to bruise his ego. She even encouraged him to stand up, despite his bloody body and weak legs protesting, but she didn't allowing him to fight back.

After about the fifth time he spat blood and saliva that accumulated in his mouth, the first year realizing he literal signed his own death certificate; especially when he saw that it was only his blood on the stone floor. He didn't know what he had done to piss her off, but he wasn't about to give up. His common sense told him not to keep boxing in a losing match; no matter how tough he was, she was leagues better than him. Yet the vodka he consumed wasn't allowing him to think straight.

Sensing his confidence nose drive as he struggled to decide if he should tap out, Yang kicked him to the floor, straddled him, and rained down blows to his face. He looked like he needed the extra encouragement and Yang loved overpowering her opponents like this.

The basement long went deaf for Yang, she knew they were shouting but found when she was extremely focused on hurting someone everything else goes silent. But something told Yang to look up from her opponent and scan the boisterous crowd. She did briefly after a jab in her opponent's face that would allow her to break away, and in the sea of people she saw _her_, black hair, cat ears, and angry amber eyes.

It was probably a mistake at that moment to look up, Yang's concentration broke and the guy she sat atop of recovered, throwing a heavy punch into her face. With confidence soaring as he observed Yang tumble off him, the first year tackled the blond to the floor and punched again, reeling back his fist with a few strands of the blond boxer's golden locks tucked in between his fingers.

He expected cheers in his honor but the outside crowd grew silent, some of them gasped, and even one yelled "Boy, you fucked now!" Confused he examined the girl before him, and nearly chocked on his spit. The expression on her face was nothing but unbridled fury. He eyes red like blood as she bared her teeth like fangs.

He didn't have time to run. She pounced on him like a tiger, and with snarls to mimic a wild animal proceeded to try to tear him asunder. But between the cheers from indifferent patrons, laughter from her opponent's enemies, and prayers from his friends, she heard her name and someone yanked her from on top of the boy before he went limp.

* * *

Yang turned to look at who was bold as to touch her and drag her way when she was met with an unforgiving amber gaze.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, the brawler let out a heavy grunt. "You really are as fuckin' stubborn as Weiss. I never pegged you to be so headstrong."

The Faunus rolled her eyes and turned away from Yang, dragging her away from the mock ring, while still maintaining her glare. "Well hey, there isn't a lot you know about me."

Yang pulled her hand away as they stood in the middle of the crowd. "You're right, there is a lot I do not know about you."

"Seriously Yang, what the hell?!" Blake exclaimed, whipping her head back to her partner who was trying, but failing to hold a neutral expression.

"I'm trying to salvage what's left of my Thursday", the blond responded, gnawing her teeth as she spoke.

"Friday, in case you haven't noticed, it's three o'clock in the morning."

Frustrated Yang growled and threw her hands into the air before forcing them down at her side, fist balled up so tight her knuckles were turning white. "Fine whatever, it's fuckin' Friday! Honestly Blake it doesn't matter what fuckin' day it is. What does matter; however, is that I specially remember telling you never to show up here!"

"Yang, what type of shit have you gotten yourself into?"

"I'm pretty sure you know", the brawler mocked.

"Then you must understand the amount of trouble you're in. Yang, this entire thing here is illegal! And you could seriously get yourself hurt, or worse!"

Yang knew Blake would react like this, but the blond really didn't need a lecture on just how suspect this place was. Nor did she need a lecture on the possibility of getting hurt to the point of severe injuries, getting expelled from Beacon, or actually dying. But most of all, she certainly didn't want to hear it from Blake.

"Well aren't you the pot callin' the kettle black?" the blond sneered. "Okay, let's ignore the fact that I'm hardly ever in danger because I'm strong enough to handle these bastards. Let's ignore the fact that I am the strongest boxer here. But let me ask, what's make you think you're the right person to tell me how illegal this is?"

Yang leaned in close to the Faunus to whisper in her human set of ears. "Let us not forget you probably have a lot more blood on your hands than I'll ever have, Miss Former White Fang—"

Blake slapped her; hard.

"Fighting for social and economic change for my entire race is not the same as fighting in this shitty basement blood brawl!"

Yang looked as if she wanted to respond with a harsh rebuttal, but the duo was interrupted by a male student calling out to Blake, informing the two she had an opponent waiting to fight her. The two turned their attention to the middle of the crowd where Cardin stood, hand tapped up extra thick and grin spread far too wide for Yang to like.

As the dark haired Faunus began to walk back into the center, the blond grabbed at her wrist, pulling her back.

"No," Yang commanded when Blake attempted to walked forward, ignoring the person pulling her elsewhere.

"You can't be serious?"

"I am! I wasn't shittin' with you when I said I can't guarantee you I'll be able to protect!"

"Fuck you Yang! I'm not your sister nor am I weak!"

Yang wanted to protest further, but the look of disappoint, hurt, and rebellion on Blake's face killed all her arguments. She knew Blake would no longer tolerate Yang insistence on her safety, mentally communicating that the blond had damaged the trust between them, and even lost all of her respect with her quip about her past life. They were going to have a long and difficult conversation after her bout, but for now Blake herself needed to vent, and she wasn't in the mood to fight with Yang any longer.

Moreover, Blake was on a mission to prove she could handle whatever mess Yang got herself into, and that she could handle herself without the blond playing protector.

So, the blond released Blake's smaller wrist. "Don't expect me or anyone to jump in when he fucks you up. And if you're as wise as I believe you to be, you'll tap out early."

The Faunus hardly nodded before Yang angrily sulked away to the back of the room. The crowd parted before her like the Red Sea, and remained as such, the threatening aura Yang emitted convincing people to keep from blocking her view. With Yang irately watching for the distance, Blake cautiously approached the middle of the crowd, where two students dressed her hands in cloth and gave her a pair of black boxing shorts, convincing her to strip her combat clothing down to her own sports bra and white tights.

* * *

Something had gone wrong, and Yang wanted to go in to stop the situation before it became worse. Cardin was cheating, in some way, and strange enough, no one else noticed it.

While Yang claimed Blake would receive an ass beating from her opponent should she decided to fight him, in actuality, she knew Blake would most likely defeat Cardin. Blake wasn't as strong as Cardin, but what she lacked in strength she made up for in other skills; she was naturally faster than him, and cleverer; the time she spent sparing with Yang had improved her endurance, and the blond even taught her a thing or two about grappling.

So when they began to square off, Blake in her usual calm and focused manner, was making a laughing stock of Cardin, her quick and fast punches doing more to him that his heavy jabs and kicks. He wasn't graceful on his feet and was sloppy in the way he fought, leaving himself open to attack and slow to defend. The lad had no real formal training, so despite his power, he tired easily. It all begged the question "How did he get into Beacon anyway?"

That said, so long as Blake could keep her momentum and manage the energy she spent, she'd outlast him. At least, that's what should have happened but fate had a different outcome in mind.

"Wait, I want to see more of how she fights at a disadvantaged."

Yang gritted her teeth, and for a moment, considered punching the man who held her back in his chest before going off to rescue Blake from the trouble she had gotten herself into. Just how this sneaked in and remained invisible to everyone but her was beyond Yang's comprehension, not that she too particularity cared at the moment. So instead the blond held her ground, she anger rising with each jab Cardin threw at Blake's body.

"She's getting beatin' enough", Yang argued with hint of frustration straining her voice.

The man sipped at his coffee mug branding Beacon's logo on the front. "So she is", he responded, locking his brown eyes with Yang's own lilac eyes briefly before turning his attention onto the match. "However, I think you confuse 'receiving a beating' with 'being beaten'. Look, she's fighting back."

Yang watched her partner stand to her feet and resume fighting, doing her best to find the momentum she lost to stand against Cardin, before once again falling, almost cowering as she covered her cat like ears that lay back against her head. She yelled at her opponent, something that sounded like she was accusing him of cheating but was quickly silenced with a kick to her ribs.

"Not yet Miss Xiao Long", the professor responded, his own aura flaring as Yang's spiked, just enough to calm the blond but strike her with an warning feeling. Without much effort he was communicating it would be wise for the brawler to follow his command; just an ounce of his aura was intimidating enough for Yang to wait.

Blake was at Cardin's mercy as she looked as if she was trying to block out the sounds around her, her painful cries echoing louder than the roars from the spectators in Yang's ears. She was bleeding from wounds on her arms and her torso looked bruised from repeated poundings. For the most part Cardin avoid her face but Yang found it hard to look at, her cheeks turning purple under the weight of his fist. It was a pitiful sight to look at that made the brawler feels very uneasy.

"She doesn't look too good. She could use some advice", Professor Ozpin spoke with a small grin.

Trying her best to shout over the crowd Yang called out to Blake. When their eyes locked Yang made motions for her to tap out when she realized Blake was having a hard time listening out for her partner.

It took a moment for the Faunus to comprehend what she was being told; when she did Blake tapped on the ground to signify she was in too much pain to continue. Cardin didn't seem to notice and even as the voices died down Cardin continued to attack in his own lust for blood.

People were still shouting, but not for a good show, but because Cardin wasn't ending the match. Shortly after tapping out, someone shoved the heavier boy off Blake and began yelling at him. He looked confused, almost as if he didn't understand why people were giving his dirty looks and why some of his friends were attempting to defend him. Of course, Cardin didn't need a reason to argue, and without really understanding he was being accused of breaking one too many rules, he started to pick fights with whoever was in his face.

Yang rushed to Blake's side, ignoring the cryptic professor that held her back and sea of students in her way, scooping up the smaller girl in her arm Yang.

"Didn't I tell you there would be consequences to follow if you didn't let it go?"

"Jackasses, both you and Cardin", she coughed earning a scowl from the blond.

"I know. This is my fault. I'll take care of it", Yang softly spoke. Her voice; however, not without malice intended for a certain individual.

"Don't kill him", the Faunus requested, catching the resentment in her partner's voice.

Yang strolled over to a distressed Velvet, and a worried Ren and Nora, who had been watching from afar. None of them spoke, stunned silent from fear, sensing the fury from Yang's aura and burning gaze.

"Velvet, patch her up for me will ya?"

The rabbit Faunus nodded. "As soon as the ringing from the whistle in my head stops", she responded. Taking note of the Faunus' remark Yang handed Blake to the shorter Nora, who had no trouble carrying the Faunus, before walking away.

"Hell hath no fury…" Nora commented as she turned away.

"Y-you think she's mad at us?" the rabbit Faunus tentatively asked as she glided her hand over Blake forehead, "For not stepping in?"

"Hmm, probably. But if I was to guess, she's choosing to ignore you all to vent her rage elsewhere. It doesn't look to well for Mister Winchester", Professor Ozpin spoke as he approached the group.

"We can explain!" Nora cried earning a chuckle from the headmaster.

"No need Miss Valkyrie. None of you are in any trouble", he interrupted, sipping on his coffee mug. "I know of your actions and of Fight Club. This underground club is rumored to have existed since Beacon was first built, and I guess you can say I'm an alumni from this place."

"An alumni?" the short girl repeated as she laid Blake on a cot near Velvet.

"Yes. I must say the smell of blood and sweat brings back fond memories."

"Sir, just how old are you—", Ren began.

"That said it is within my power to shut down this establishment. However, I do not desire to mess with tradition. Fight Club is actually quite valuable to me."

"Why is that?" Blake asked.

The grey hair man smiled. "Knowledge only carries you so far. My aim is not just to educate you but prepare you for something biggest than yourselves. Consider this as one of my many methods towards reaching that goal."

Blake and Ren seemed to nod in understanding while Nora and Velvet gazed at the brown eyed man in confusion, prompting a question from the normally timid rabbit Faunus. "What are you preparing us—"

"Now then, as headmaster of Beacon I have much to do, so I cannot stay to watch the unscheduled execution tonight." Ozpin took a glance at his scroll as he tapped his cane on the concrete beneath him.

"Miss Belladonna, you and Miss Xiao Long may have today off to recover. Mister Lie and Miss Valkyrie, please make sure that after his bout, Mister Winchester is taken to the infirmary immediately." Sipping his coffee Professor Ozpin pointed his cane to the middle of the room. On cue Ren and Nora could see Cardin being flung across the room, hitting one of the stone walls before a bloody hand grabbed his brunt orange hair to pull him back into the center of the room.

Without so much as a goodbye, the professor disappeared leaving Nora and Velvet to gaze questionably at the space he once occupied before turning their attention to the massacre happening before them, the shorter Nora craning her neck to watch on.

"Come on Nora", Ren sighed, "We should head up front so we can get to Cardin. And so you can get a better view."

* * *

Once Yang handed Blake off to Nora, the blond pushed her way back into the front of the crowd. Vision already flooded red with anger, Yang could hardly see or hear anything or anyone other than Cardin. The brawler caught on the small bits and pieces of information. The accusing crowd wanted Cardin to remove his so called mouth guard. Arrogantly the boy proclaimed he wasn't going to because he did nothing wrong.

As Yang approached the center, the blond called out to Cardin, who in his foolishness grinned at Yang and responded with the less than flattering nickname "busty babe".

Poor Cardin, he has never had an opportunity to experience Yang's strength or fury first hand. The cards never aligned for him until tonight. Always on the outside looking in, be it in his combat classes or in Fight Club, the boy never received the privilege of fighting the bruiser. Cardin, bless his heart, knows he's strong, but often overestimates his might when he attempts to fight someone outside his league. But the teen thrives on ego, so he relents to picking his weaker opponents or using carefully planned cheats to ensure victory.

That said he should have known when Yang called out to him, it wasn't for a friendly chat. And any other day he would have forgone his pride for his personal safety. But he wasn't in his right mind; the alcohol was impairing his judgment and the so called friends at his side speaking nonsense in his ears. Knowing Yang wanted to fight the boy pushed his teammate to the side and lifted his fists, sinking down into a fighting stand.

The moment he did so; however, Yang was in his face and before he could blink the blond jabbed him in the face and sent him flying into the wall.

"You little shit! Wipe that smile off your face!"

Cardin grimaced at the pain in his cheek, but had no time for composure. Yang pulled him off the wall by his short brunt orange hair and drag him back into the center before serving him another jab to his face and a cross on his jaw.

But Cardin wasn't just going to let Yang hit him however she pleased, and in an act of retaliation swung his right fist towards the blond. But he was slow, much too slow compared to Yang. She side stepped him and responded with a roundhouse to his face that had him crashing to the ground.

Cardin was sluggish in moving after the last assault, eyes shut, groaning in pain as he rolled over on his back. He had never known someone to hit so hard, rather he never fought someone with so much superior strength. With his head spinning he almost didn't recognize the heavy body sitting on him or callused fingers digging into his mouth. Cardin shot his eyes open to see Yang attempting at what he thought was pulling out his teeth. The boy moved a hand to her face to try and shove her off, but when that failed to deter her he bit down on her fingers.

Yang angrily cursed at the boy and reeled her right fist back to knock him across his face. With him wailing at the sting of her punch the blond yanked out his so called "mouthpiece" and a tooth. Yang instantly recognized the metal piece she pulled out his mouth, and judging by the shouts from around her a few others did as well. It was sheepdog whistle, a strangely modified one at that, and one of the worse devices made for pets and young Faunus.

Tossing the saliva coated object out into the cheering mass Yang returned her gaze to Cardin, who had so much as the audacity to sheepishly grin at her. "Aw you lost a baby tooth", the blond cooed as placed the bone in the palm of her hand. "Here, you can take it back and maybe the Tooth Fairy will give you some fuckin' lien!" Squeezing her fists she pounded into his face twice, Cardin's head jerking in each direction as he coughed out spit.

Yang lifted herself off the boy and once again, by his hair, dragged him to his feet. "Fight me damnit!" she bellowed.

Shaking his head Cardin lunged at the blond again, but much like before he couldn't touch her. He could only do so much as drive her back to the stone wall before she attacked again, with quick jabs to his face and body kicks, pushing him back to the center of room.

Not yet satisfied with the beating she was giving him, Yang grabbed Cardin by his waist, lifted him, and threw his entire body down on the concrete. Falling on her knees with him she shuffled off to Cardin's right and draped her legs across his chest, pulling his right arm in between her thighs and stretching it as far as it could go.

"Wait, stop!" Cardin cried out, mouth bloody and face full of bruises and cuts. But it was too late; he could hear the bubbly Nora shout "break it", and no sooner than he identified the voice did he cry out at the unmistakable snap that was an arm bar, every curse word imaginable coming from his mouth.

At this point Cardin had given up, and with his aura working overtime to fix his injuries, he resorted to the most shameful thing he could imagine. "I'm sorry. Please stop", he begged over and over again, tears forming in his eyes to show just how remorseful he was.

"No Cardin. You don't get to tap out of this one. But allow me to re-educate you", the blond spat at him in response. Straddling Cardin Yang rained down furious blows on whatever part of the Cardin that didn't look to be bruised. The brawler was intent on putting him out of his misery as she recited the rules of Fight Club to him like they were the Miranda Rights. At the final rule Yang socked him across his face one final time and Cardin went limp.

The crowd suddenly went hushed as Yang rolled off the boy. Ren walked to the center and checked over the body that wasn't moving from its sprawled position on the floor. It was one thing to hurt him, but another to _actually _kill him. No matter how low Ren thought of Cardin, even he didn't wish this sort of death.

"He's still alive, surprisingly", the lotus boy said to Yang, but loud enough for everyone else to hear him. "Fortunately you just knocked him unconscious."

As if they had witnessed a miracle, the mass cheered louder than Yang had ever heard them. Nora, who was laughing and dancing about with some fourth year students approached the center, and under Ren strict instructions, carried Cardin out the center and out of the basement to head back to Beacon. With a long sigh from Yang, and a couple pats on her back from some Faunus students and enemies of Cardin, Yang slowly trudged back to Velvet, the fury she had before gone but her body seemingly drained of energy.

"I have no fuckin' clue what I would have done if I had killed him", the blond admitted as she sat on a bench near the bunny girl.

The rabbit Faunus chuckled. "I imagine the only people who would care would be his family." Velvet motioned to the cheering mass, celebrating as if the Vale national team had won an Olympic gold medal in a team event.

"Pity", Yang replied, rubbing her shoulders. "By the way, where's Blake?"

"She left long before you broke Cardin's arm. I..I'm sorry I didn't convince her to stay around."

Yang waved her hand as if to say "It's alright". Shuffling away Yang picked up her belongings and that of Blake's she could find before exiting the basement.

* * *

The Garden of Eden; it is said in the oldest religious text that in this garden a benevolent god created man in the likeness of his own image, giving him dominion over the creatures in his garden. But man was mischievous, and when they disobeyed one of his most sacred rules he cast them out into the world where Grimm, rejects of his holy creations, were living. It is said that this god, still loving of his children gave them aura, semblances, and eventually Nature's Wrath so that they could live in the harsh environment of Grimm.

Under the nighttime sky the garden was surprisingly peaceful and soothing. It was hard to imagine that there was an illegal boxing ring underground. But Yang supposed that was the genius in it. To find something as chaotic as Fight Club, one would have to look in somewhere as tranquil as here. This garden was not Eden, but it was a visualization of what the Garden of Eden may have looked like; every piece of floral that could exist in the world, or at least bloom in Vale, planted on this soil, with the statues placed about telling a story of mankind's early struggles. Looking about Yang commented that nothing looked out of place, every plant and stone in perfect balance.

Well, minus the Faunus sitting on a backless stone bench in the middle of the garden.

Cautiously approaching the girl she watched as the Faunus jerked up at the sound of her footsteps before slumping over again. Yang couldn't see her face, the girl sitting with her towards the dragon Grimm statue, but with the way she clutched at her side, the blond knew the sudden movement caused her a little discomfort.

"Waiting for me? I thought you went back to the dorm", Yang called out as she approached.

"I was going to, but something told me to wait here", the Fauns answered.

Yang figured it wasn't something; rather it was someone who told her to wait. With a long sigh the brawler took a seat next to the Faunus, staring back at the dragon Grimm statue. They sat as such for what seemed like forever, neither girl turning to look at the other but peacefully sitting beside each other. Yang's anger had long left her, fatigue slightly overcoming her body but her aura emitting a warming pulse to relax her muscles. Yang thought about getting closer to Blake to share her warmth and offer some of her aura to heal her. Instead, after twenty minutes, the brawler chose to break the silence with an apology.

"I'm sorry Blake, for all of this. For your fight with Cardin, the part where I brought up the White Fang, lying, sneaking around, threatening you", Yang paused. "_Especially_ for threatening you, my best friend. I didn't know what else to do, but I know I wasn't myself then, and looking back now I regret it. I'm a jackass."

The Faunus was mute, but if the twitching of her cat ears meant anything, Blake heard every word of her apology. A minute of silence passed before Blake spoke.

"I'm sorry too. Given what I now know, it isn't exactly your fault. Fight Club was supposed to be a secret and your stress relief. It wasn't very nice of me to distrust you so much and trick you into telling your secret. However, just so we understand, you really were out of mind when you threatened me. Don't do that again, clear?"

The young blond sighed. "Crystal clear." Jumping to her feet and stepping over the bench Yang came into view as the Faunus turned away. "Come on, let me see your face", Yang cooed as she bent down to Blake's level and placed her palm on her cheek, "Please Blake."

With her partner's warmth emitting over her face and soothing her, the Faunus slowly turned to give Yang a clear view of her injuries.

Fortunately Blake aura's kept her face from swelling, but the bruises plastered over her face did not look good. Concerned about the rest of the Faunus, Yang kept her hand rested on Blake's cheek but proceeded to examine her body. Velvet did a good job of cleaning the girl up, and what was showing could be hidden with makeup. But Yang was dismayed at the number of bandages adorning her body. Had she not have been focus on the types of injuries her partner received, Yang would have noticed the girl was blushing at each touch. Despite being dressed in medical tap and cloths Blake felt she was virtually nude as she hadn't changed back into her full combat attire.

"Ugh, Ruby and Weiss are going to chew my ass out for this shit. You look like you went twelve rounds with me", the blond grunted. "No way I can really explain away or cover this up."

Blake placed her hand over Yang's, causing her lilac orbs to shoot up and looking into Blake' own amber eyes. "Then just tell them what they need to know. I went out late last night and ran into Cardin. We got into a confrontation. You came to my rescue then fixed me up as best as you could."

Yang didn't seem to comprehend what Blake suggested, shaking her head "no" and furrowing her brows.

"It's partially true. And besides, they could argue with you but there is little they can do if I go along with it."

"No, that isn't it. I agree with you. It's just", Yang took a moment to pause before asking tentatively, "You're not mad at me anymore?"

Apparently the earlier apology did little to convince Yang it was all water under the bridge. "I was", Blake chuckled. "But you and your sister seem to have this amazing ability that keeps me and Weiss from ever staying angry at our partners."

Yang's aura spike a bit at what she believed was a compliment and forgiveness for the conflict between them for months. Internally Yang was relieved and in an impulsive "thank you" leaned in to kiss Blake.

The Faunus froze when she saw the blond move in with intent on displaying such affection, shutting her eyes to mentally prepare herself for this candid display of feelings. But intend of a kiss on her lips, Blake was surprised to find her imagined passionate kiss would be a motherly peck on her forehead.

Yang reeled back to see a rather deflated Blake stare back at her.

"You didn't…like it?" the blond hesitantly asked with a scowl on her face.

"No, I was just expecting something different."

She wanted to ask what Blake meant when she said something different, but with the heat of a blush overcoming her cheeks Yang pushed it aside to save for another time.

"Sorry. I used to do it to Ruby all the time when we were younger. I still do, so I can't help it if I do it to my teammates too."

Blake rolled her eyes, a small grin appearing on her face. "Well while I don't mind, Weiss may have a problem with it."

Yang returned Blake's grin. "Speaking of which…" the blond started as she stood to her feet, holding out her hand to her partner, "Come on, we should head back before my sister wakes up and starts having a panic attack because we've gone missing."

The Faunus took Yang's hand but was slow to stand to her feet, still in obvious pain her aura couldn't quite stop. The blond shot Blake a concerning look before bending down and sweeping Blake in her arms to carry her bridal style.

"The hell Yang, I can walk—"

"Didn't I tell you there would be consequences for your actions?" Yang interrupted with a mischievous grin. "Calm down and just let your knight in…" Yang looked down to examine the clothing she wore before laughing, "Blond hair and sweaty gym clothes take you back to your castle."

"Knight huh? I don't know; I considered you more of my trusty steed or trouble making ass."

"Oh I see we have jokes now. You know I could just drop you", said "steed" teased.

The Faunus relented. "Please don't. It's much too comfortable in your arms and my body is still sore."

Smiling as Blake snuggled closer to her the brawler began the trek back to the main part of Beacon. Tired beyond all reason she barely settled herself and Blake in bed at their dorm in time enough to avoid their leader.

From then on, Yang almost stopped attending Fight Club, showing up every so often just to grace the crowd with a good match from their favorite boxer. And just like before, with the exception of Nora, no one could best the Blond Bombshell in a fist fight.

As for why she stopped attending so frequently, it turned out that she was finally able to get over her illness. She could sleep much more peaceful at night, even better than before. Yang didn't understand what was troubling her so much before but didn't complain. "All's well that ends well" the blond took to saying. After all, she did become closer to her partner and best friend; that is, if you consider shared a bed together close.

Yang promises she didn't get Blake drunk so that she'd agree to it.

* * *

That's it. If you liked great. If you didn't, I'll try to do better in another piece. Something not as as dumb as this. Peace.


End file.
